A sports hernia is an often-misdiagnosed tearing of the oblique abdominal muscles. At least that is what the good people at sportshernia.com tell me. Akron Aeros right-hander Trey Haley managed to pitch through the pain of a misdiagnosed sport hernia over parts of the previous three seasons -- in particular last season. When he was shut down for surgery in early June, he owned a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings. After finding a way to perform with great amounts of pain, Haley told Jim Piascik that he is happy to be in Akron and is just looking to be consistent in 2013.

In this week’s week-ending edition of Minor Happenings, Tony provides a bevy of updates on the walking wounded in the Indians system with players such as Alex Monsalve, Chen-Chang Lee, Shawn Armstrong, Joey Wendle and a half a dozen others. On top of that he provides several comments and insight from the Indians front office on players at Low-A Lake County like Anthony Santander, Eric Haase and others. He also touches on the recent good play of outfielder Tim Fedroff and his big league chances, and provides insight and analysis on the likes of Jeremy Hermida, Jesus Aguilar, Cody Anderson, Jeremy Lucas and others.

If you like great pitching performances, then you might want to avert your eyes from last night in the Cleveland organization. The pitching at each of the affiliates left something to be desired, leaving the onus on the offense to make something happen. Some teams did better than others, especially a sometimes-forgotten outfielder in Lake County. To find out who this is and all you need to know about what happened in the minor leagues last night, join Jim Piascik go Around The Farm.

The Akron Aeros ran into the Binghamton Mets at the wrong time. Tonight, the Mets were down 3-0 going into the fifth inning, and scored six in the bottom of the inning to take a 6-3 lead. After adding three more in the bottom of the sixth, the Binghamton rout was on. Things got started in the top of the fourth with the Aeros offense putting a crooked number on the board.

Baseball players are supposed to play baseball. That sounds like a simple idea, but that tautology does not always hold. More often than we all realize, injuries affect players and prevent them from reaching their full potential. Plus, pitchers are all time bombs waiting to explode. Add it all together and you get where Akron Aeros right-hander Austin Adams was last year. Jim Piascik recently talked to Adams about missing the whole season, the journey back, and how things are going for him in 2013.

In this week’s first edition of the Happenings, I provide an update on what is going on out in Arizona with several players participating in extended spring training. I recently had a chance to sit down with the player development staff and discuss several players and I provide lots of comments from them on players such as D’Vone McClure, Josh McAdams, Tyler Booth, Kieran Lovegrove, Luis Lugo, Dillon Howard, and more. I also provide the details on Cord Phelps’ new role, the plans for Danny Salazar this season, and insight and info on the likes of Tim Fedroff, Jordan Cooper, Enosil Tejeda, Jake Sisco and more.

Taking things one game at a time, the Akron Aeros made their way up to .500 over the past week and into a tie for second place in the Western Division of the Eastern League. As we approach the 40-game mark -- a point where we can start to leave small sample size caveats behind -- the Aeros seem to be finding their stride. To find out exactly how the Aeros did over the past week and everything you need to know about the team, join Jim Piascik and go Launching Off With The Aeros.

The IBI Hot List is back for another week and recaps the hot (and some cold) performances in the Indians system over the past week. This week Tony provides some insight and info on the recent hot performances from the likes of Danny Salazar, Ryan Merritt, Dylan Baker, Nick Pasquale, Justin Toole, D.J. Brown and others, and yes, he also looks at the recent cold showings from the likes of Dorssys Paulino, Ronny Rodriguez, Elvis Araujo, and others.

READING- The Akron Aeros got their night started off with, what else, a rain delay. After last night’s game was suspended after seven innings due to rain, the Aeros and Fighting Phils were set to make up the final two innings in at 5:35 ET. The start of that game was delayed until about 6:40 pm, but eventually they were able to complete the seemingly endless affair.

It was a quiet night in the farm system as two games were washed away and another was suspended late in the game leaving just Carolina who managed to play a complete nine inning game. The IBI's Arthur Kinney recaps the night and touches on some of the performances in Carolina and what happened in Akron before their game was delayed.

The Clippers unloaded on Thursday with two players in particular having great showings. One of the top prospects in Akron had a huge night, while the Mudcats played a doubleheader and had impressing pitching performances. Did #WashTime come through again? All this and more as contributor Andrew Zajac goes Around the Farm on Thursday, May 8.

Akron began its away series with a close win against the Reading Phils Thursday night 5-4. The Aeros offense overcame weak pitching to clinch their 17th win of the season. First baseman Jesus Aguilar led Akron throughout the game putting up exceptional numbers throughout his five at bats.

In this week’s Minor Happenings, Tony talks about the rapid growth of Danny Salazar and his alleged promotion to Columbus and what he needs to work on. He also looks at the return of Matt LaPorta and if his showing to date is any different from last year, provides some detailed comments from the front office on Trevor Bauer’s progression as a pitcher as well as the 411 on extended spring training, and also provides some insight and information on the likes of Preston Guilmet, Justin Toole, Francisco Lindor, Mitch Brown, and more.

Balls flying out of Huntington Park in Columbus with one of the main culprits being a real blast from the past. An Akron starting pitcher turning around a season's worth of poor performances with a strong day in Canal Park. Few hits and fewer runs from the Lake County offense, letting down their pitchers. To figure out who these cryptic hints are referring to and find out all you need to know about the action in the minor leagues Wednesday night, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

Coming into Wednesday, Akron Aeros left-hander Matt Packer owned a 0-4 record, a 4.60 ERA, more hits (42) than innings pitched (29.1), and almost as many walks (14) as strikeouts (16). Packer began to turn things around Wednesday morning at Education Day at Canal Park, however, throwing seven innings with no earned runs (two unearned) as the Aeros defeated the Erie SeaWolves 4-2. The win allowed Akron to avoid a sweep before heading out on a seven-game road trip.

Akron Aeros' right-handed pitcher Danny Salazar is presently 2-3 with a 2.67 ERA and a 51:10 K:BB. In three appearances from April 20-May 2, Salazar didn’t allow an earned run. On Tuesday, his final start with the Aeros, he tossed five innings against the Erie SeaWolves and yielded just one run. He is still working on his secondary stuff, but is expected to be promoted to Columbus in the next few days. Stephanie Metzger has the story...

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!